Malawi — map and facts

About Malawi

Malawi is a landlocked country in southeastern Africa, bordered by Tanzania to the north, Mozambique to the east, south, and west, and Zambia to the northwest. With a population of around 20 million, it is one of the most densely populated countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The capital is Lilongwe, while Blantyre is the main commercial city. Chichewa and English are the official languages. Malawi is one of the world's least developed countries, with the economy heavily reliant on subsistence agriculture; tobacco, tea, and sugar are the main cash crops. The country is a constitutional democracy and has been generally regarded as one of the more politically stable nations in the region. A landmark moment came in 2020 when the Constitutional Court annulled the results of a disputed presidential election, leading to a fresh vote that was won by Lazarus Chakwera — a widely praised demonstration of judicial independence in Africa.

Geography and Landscape

Malawi is dominated by the Great Rift Valley, which runs through the country from north to south and contains Lake Malawi, one of the African Great Lakes and the world's ninth-largest lake. Lake Malawi covers approximately 30,000 square kilometres and constitutes about one-fifth of the country's total area. The lake is renowned for its extraordinary biodiversity, particularly its hundreds of endemic cichlid fish species. The Shire River flows southward from the lake through the Shire Valley before joining the Zambezi River in Mozambique. The terrain rises steeply west of the rift valley to the Central African Plateau at around 1,000 metres. The Nyika Plateau in the north reaches over 2,400 metres, while Mount Mulanje in the south rises to 3,002 metres at Sapitwa Peak, the highest point in central Africa south of Kilimanjaro. The climate is subtropical and moderated by elevation, with a rainy season from November to April.

History

The region of present-day Malawi has been inhabited since at least 8000 BCE. Bantu-speaking peoples migrated into the area from around 1000 CE, and by the 15th century the Maravi Confederacy — from which the name Malawi derives — unified much of the territory. Arab and Swahili slave traders became active in the region by the 18th century, causing widespread devastation. Scottish explorer and missionary David Livingstone reached Lake Malawi in 1859, and his reports on the slave trade galvanised British missionary and abolitionist activity. The British Central Africa Protectorate was established in 1891 and renamed Nyasaland in 1907. In 1944, the Nyasaland African Congress was founded, evolving into a nationalist movement. Malawi joined the Central African Federation with Southern Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia in 1953 but seceded in 1963. Independence was achieved on 6 July 1964, with Hastings Banda becoming the first president and ruling as a dictator until 1994, when multiparty elections were introduced following pressure from civil society and international donors.